5-million Shopping Complex Proposed For Site On Route 512

A three-man partnership from Stroudsburg is seeking to develop a $5-million retail store complex, including a 24-hour IGA supermarket, in Washington Township, Northampton County.

At last night's meeting of the township supervisors, partner Stanley Zuba and commercial real estate specialist Henry Feinberg said the proposed complex would be on an 18-acre tract at the intersection of Route 512 and Blue Valley Drive. Once developed, the complex would employ about 240 people.

The supervisors expressed a willingness to learn more about the proposal and asked the developers to appear at a meeting of the township planning commission at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 6.

Zuba and other partners, David Prosser and Jules Steinberg, have a contract to purchase the property, owned by Joseph Beers. Zuba said the partners presently own nine IGA markets in Monroe, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties and have been in business for 21 years.

He said the partners were approached by Bangor borough several years ago to locate an IGA in that municipality as part of a federally funded community development project. However, Zuba said a survey indicated the best site for a new supermarket was the Route 512 location in the township.

The IGA would be directly across the street from its competitor, Acme, in the Capitol Plaza complex.

Feinberg gave the supervisors a preliminary site plan for the project, but admitted, "There are a lot of problems we have to solve here."

Among those problems are petitioning the supervisors to have the property rezoned from its current agricultural classification to commercial, developing a traffic flow scheme and providing for storm water retention and sewage disposal. Feinberg said the partners will seek to have the property rezoned rather than request a zoning variance. He said they anticipate providing some type of extra traffic lanes and a storm water holding pond.

However, before the partners spend the $20,000 to $30,000 in engineering studies to address those problems specifically, Feinberg said they are seeking some indication of the township's reception to the proposal. "Are you interested, or shall we go home? . . . That's why we're here . . . We'd like to open the door," Feinberg said.

Two residents in the vicinity of the property, John DePalma and Anthony Campanaro, both expressed reservations about the increased traffic the project would bring to the area. "There are other people with our feelings," DePalma added.

Chairman of the supervisors, Paul Wagner, said of the proposal, "I'm open minded toward it. I want to get more information."